Former Pro Bowler Sharpe Faces Prison

Handsome and articulate with a political science degree from UCLA, Luis Sharpe fully expected to become a successful sports broadcaster when his 13-year NFL career ended.

Instead, addiction to drugs has sent the three-time Pro Bowl lineman into a dangerous downward spiral. Since last year, the former St. Louis and Phoenix Cardinals player has been arrested five times for drug possession, assault and trespassing on the property of his estranged wife.

He’s been found twice on the streets of a crime-infested neighborhood, bleeding from shotgun wounds.

His jaw wired shut from the latest shooting, Sharpe looked shockingly gaunt Wednesday at a probation revocation hearing. His 6-foot-5 frame appeared a full 40 pounds lighter than his playing weight of 280.

Sharpe, 36, is being held without bond at the Maricopa County Jail, facing a four-year prison sentence for violating terms of his probation.

During a jailhouse news conference in April, Sharpe acknowledged his problems with a variety of drugs, including crack cocaine and amphetamines.

“I’m a drug addict,” he said. “I just got turned in the wrong direction. I knew what I was doing was wrong. I knew where it was leading me.”

Still, jail seemed an unlikely place for Sharpe to end up. In the days when he wore No. 67, he was one of the Cardinals’ best and most popular players.

Born in Cuba and raised in Detroit, he was the team’s first-round draft pick in 1982 and picked for the Pro Bowl three consecutive years starting in 1987. In ’83 and ‘84, he was an alternate.

Glib and personable, Sharpe was the player reporters went to first for quotes after a game. In the offseason, he often worked at local TV stations, trying to learn the broadcasting trade. Some station managers said he was a quick learner.

Sharpe’s football career ended on Nov. 20, 1994, when the medial collateral ligament in his right knee gave way during the Cardinals’ home game against Philadelphia.

Said Cardinals coach Buddy Ryan at the time: “We ain’t got anyone hurt that counts.”

The remark devastated Sharpe, said his estranged wife, Kathi.

But Sharpe’s troubles began long before his playing days were over.

A nanny for two of Sharpe’s five children accused the player of raping her in March 1992 at a resort in Maui, Hawaii.

Sharpe, who had undergone drug treatment at the Betty Ford Clinic in 1991, checked into substance abuse clinics in Michigan and California three times in 1995 but left quickly each time--once taking a $1,000 cab ride to Phoenix from Los Angeles.

Phoenix police were called to the Sharpe home 10 times in 1995 to deal with accusations of domestic violence or violations of Kathi Sharpe’s court-obtained protective order barring her husband from the house.

Kathi Sharpe filed for divorce twice in 1994 but didn’t follow through. She has since filed again.

On Nov. 1, 1995, Sharpe was arrested after a woman accused him of kidnapping and sexually assaulting her at a suburban Phoenix hotel. He also was charged with assaulting a county sheriff’s deputy who responded to the call.

Thirteen days later, police stopped Sharpe for driving a vehicle with only one working headlight. He was arrested for driving on a suspended license and after a subsequent search of his luxury car turned up narcotics and a pipe used to smoke crack cocaine.

Then, on Nov. 30, 1995, Sharpe was found shot in the right arm and side in a south Phoenix neighborhood filled with crack houses, gangs and prostitutes. He told police he was robbed by two men who took $2,000 from him moments after he cashed a check.

Sharpe’s younger brother flew in from Detroit and had him admitted to the psychiatric unit of a Phoenix hospital.

“We did what we had to do to save his life,” said Felix Sharpe, an assistant to Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer. “It began with drugs. It’s a mental health problem now.”

Sharpe avoided a two-year prison term by pleading guilty to possessing drug paraphernalia and no contest to aggravated assault.

In May, after a 40-day jail stay, Sharpe told Judge Michael Ryan of Maricopa County Superior Court the incarceration was “a blessing in disguise” and he was ready to turn his life around.

Ordered to undergo cocaine addiction treatment at Minnesota’s Hazelden Foundation, Sharpe completed the one-month program, then was told by his probation officer to participate in treatment at a center in Palm Springs, Calif., called Michael’s House. When Sharpe didn’t show, an arrest warrant was issued June 24.

The following night, he surfaced at the door of his girlfriend’s mother, Bonnie Holt. Police said Holt called 911 and told an emergency dispatcher that a man was pointing a gun at Sharpe inside her home.

A shot was heard in the background, followed by Holt’s shouts that the gun had discharged. She hid in a bedroom with her daughter’s children until police arrived.

Sharpe was found walking along a city street bleeding from a gunshot wound to the neck that also fractured his jaw. Prosecutors said tests show Sharpe had drugs in his system, violating the terms of his probation.

Police have no suspects in the shooting, and the investigation has made little headway because Sharpe hasn’t cooperated.

Sharpe’s attorney, Marc Budoff, said what Sharpe needs is medical treatment for his drug problem, something he won’t get if he’s sent back to jail.

“Luis is a good person with a bad problem,” he said. “He hasn’t gotten any breaks because of his stardom. In fact, he’s probably gotten less breaks.

“His story is all over the newspapers and TV every day. There will be editorials now that he deserves prison time. What he needs is help.”